Behind the scenes of Arashi’s last concert, “The major media was also shut out…” Why the thorough “media control”?

The area around the dome was also closed to the press.

On May 31, the last concert of “Arashi” was held at Tokyo Dome. The packed venue was filled to the brim with excitement and tears, making it a historic night that proved the bond between the five members, but behind the scenes, there were thorough “media restrictions” in place that defied conventional wisdom in the entertainment industry.

The concert was a magnificent stage performance that combined an impressive set list of Arashi’s hit songs with the latest in production technology. The fans and members became one, and the dome shook with the sound of their thunderous cheers. The last song, “Five,” was sung by each member with original lyrics that were not included in the original song, and it was a stage with a strong message to the fans.

However, there were no reporters or cameramen from sports newspapers or TV stations, who would normally be lined up in the back of the arena. There were only official cameras.

On May 29, two days before the concert, the organizers notified all the companies of the unusual restriction of “no on-site coverage” of the last stage. Not only at the concert venue, but also in the vicinity of the Tokyo Dome, coverage of the surrounding area was uniformly ruled out. It is rare for major media outlets to be so regulated. Since images and videos are for official use only, there was a possibility that we would not receive any materials if we violated the restrictions. We complied with the restrictions out of tears.

Use of past footage was also prohibited.

This thorough control of information forced all media outlets to respond in a uniform manner.

Arashi provided only about 20 official photos. Each newspaper was not allowed to use original photos taken by its own photographers, and was forced to edit side-by-side how to lay out the material sent to them on the front page. That is why all the sports papers had the same photos,” said an entertainment reporter for a sports paper.

The next day, all of the sports papers put Arashi’s last concert on the front page. Although many of them were chagrined that the photos were not taken by their own photographers, the fans bought them to commemorate the event, which apparently contributed greatly to sales.

Even stricter restrictions were imposed on television. According to a person involved in the information program mentioned above,

According to a person involved in the information program mentioned above, “In our case, each program was notified by the TV station’s “control tower,” the programming department. It was the first time that the length of a corner was ordered, even though there are often restrictions on the length of VTRs for WBC and World Cup soccer matches. Moreover, the use of past footage was also not allowed. Naturally, there was some protest from the staff, but in the end, we were unable to cover the event on our own, so we went ahead and aired it as we had planned.

He added with a hint of frustration.

Due to this restriction, even the wide-ranging shows that normally would have given it special treatment were only able to air 10 minutes of the program.

Why did the Arashi side shut out the media so stubbornly?

One of the reasons is said to be the artists’ strong desire to protect the space between the five of them and their fans.

As an Arashi fan, I definitely want to go to the last stage. That’s why we eliminated seats for the media so that as many fans as possible could attend. That’s how much they cared about their fans. Also, many artists don’t like it when there are a lot of people from the media and other related parties, because it makes the place stand out as less exciting.

Another comment came from …….

The old Johnny’s problem still lingers in the air. The management still seems to be uncomfortable with the fact that the agency and the media had a honeymoon relationship until then, but they turned their backs on the media and slammed them. “STARTO may be thinking that they don’t have to ‘socialize’ with the media as they did back then.

Arashi’s last concert brought to light the relationship between the company and the media. It was an unprecedented end to a relationship that will cast a stone on the future of media coverage.

On the FRIDAY Digital “Entertainment Reporter Channel” (YouTube), current entertainment journalists are giving an in-depth explanation of the behind-the-scenes story of the last stage of the Arashi 5/31 last concert, which fans saw off in tears. The huge amount of “Arashi money” that went into the tour is also analyzed from a reporter’s perspective. He also talks about the future of the members.